BRIDGEPORT — Measuring by the attendance and the result, UConn's first home-game foray away from Storrs or Hartford in 27 years was an unqualified success.

A sellout crowd of 9,274, a Webster Bank Arena record for a sporting event, turned out to see the 15th-ranked Huskies beat Eastern Washington, 82-65, on Saturday afternoon.

But for much of the game, the crowd was near silent and the atmosphere suffered. Patrons also reported parking and traffic issues, but those are hardly confined to playing in Bridgeport.

UConn athletic director Warde Manuel has committed to playing in Bridgeport again or at Mohegan Sun Arena. It will likely take some time for all involved to evaluate whether moving a home game during winter break is worth it.

"It was a great atmosphere, a great crowd," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said, choosing the politically correct approach. "If coming back works out, we definitely won't be opposed to it. I'm not the guy making the decision. I'm part of the decision, but I wouldn't think twice about it."

Webster Bank Arena offered some things that Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center don't. It is more modern than either of those arenas and the pregame introductions were done with the in-vogue approach, dimmed lights and spotlights dominating.

However, UConn leads a semi-nomadic existence as it is. Moving games around the state is something that needs to be debated.

"There are a lot of things here that the XL or Gampel can't do," guard Shabazz Napier said. "At the end of the day, I love Gampel. I'd rather play in Gampel every single game."

That's the prevailing opinion of many. Ollie is 1-0 in "non-home" home games, so he's fine with playing them, for now. The Huskies had lost five straight such games, all played at New Haven Coliseum, the last two during Jim Calhoun's first season at UConn.

"Coach lost at the Coliseum," Ollie said, "and he shut that down real quick."

UConn is not done here for this year. The women play in Bridgeport on Jan. 11 against Temple.

Stepping in: Niels Giffey found his way into the starting lineup for the first time this year, taking over for Omar Calhoun. The move worked out for each.

Calhoun started to break out of his shooting slump with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Giffey provided 13 points and four rebounds, hit his only 3-pointer and tied a season high by playing 30 minutes. He also came up with a career-high three blocked shots.

It was a somewhat odd spot for the senior. He had started 15 prior games in his career, but 10 of those came during his freshman season and he started just one game last year.

"It didn't change my mind-set, to be honest," Giffey said. "I'm still trying to take the right shots, get us in that type of game where we play consistent, on what Coach Ollie calls 'level five,' really aggressive but solid. I really didn't change my game."

Family addition: Director of basketball administration Kevin Freeman, a standout on UConn's 1999 national title team, was not at Saturday's game for good reason.

On Friday, Freeman's wife, Nicole, gave birth to the couple's second son.

The 35-year-old Freeman also has a daughter, Kekoa, and an older son, Sire.

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